Organized wagering on sports events, pari-mutuel horse race betting for example, requires that a ticket be issued for each bet placed to serve as a receipt for the bet. The preparation and printing of pari-mutuel tickets to reflect the particulars of each wager made has become highly automated and computerized. A typical horse race pari-mutuel ticket contains information identifying the track at which the race was run, the date of the race, the number of the race, the number of the horse (or horses) upon which the bet was placed, the amount of the wager, the style of the bet (win, place, show, exacta, etc.), and authentication indicia such as serial numbers and the like. A winning ticket is surrendered in return for payment of the wager, while a losing ticket is usually discarded but is sometimes preserved for use as a tax record. After cashing in a winning ticket, the bettor has nothing to prove that he selected a particular winning horse running in a particular race. He is not able to both cash in the ticket and have proof that he bet on the winner.
An earlier approach to the preparation of tickets for pari-mutuel sports events is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,925,288. The focus of the invention described in that patent was to reduce the possibility of fraud on the part of handlers of ticket machines. The invention provides for a ticket strip pre-printed with sequential control numbers that are spaced so that at least one number will appear on each ticket that is printed. Test tickets from each ticket machine were printed at the end of each wagering session to determine the highest control number that could appear on any legitimate ticket. A ticket fraudulently printed after the event would then have a higher control number than any of the test tickets, allowing detection of the fraud when the ticket is presented for payment.
Operators of race tracks and other sports events at which pari-mutuel betting is offered often employ promotional activities, in addition to the attraction of wagering itself, to increase attendance and swell betting interest. Special forms of tickets have been proposed for such promotional purposes, and those tickets often allow admission to an event as well as providing a prize or specialized wager. One such strategy is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,950, which provides an admission ticket that includes a pass stub used to gain entry into a pari-mutuel event, and a wagering stub that may be exchanged for a bet at the event in a preferred version, the ticket is printed on paperboard with the pass stub and the wagering stub separated along a perforation. A patron, to gain entry into the event, surrenders the pass portion of the ticket. He then exchanges the wagering stub for a bet that is defined by wager indicia printed on the stub.
An earlier version of a generally similar, dual function ticket is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,004. The ticket includes a pass stub that is separated from the body of the ticket upon entry into a race meet, and a prize coupon having indicia that is hidden from view until the pass stub is removed. Chance correlations between the coupon indicia and winners of selected races determines the award of prizes.
People who bet on sporting events generally like souvenirs of their successes. For example, each year thousands of winning pari-mutuel tickets are kept uncashed by horse racing fans because the fan is not able to cash the ticket and also have proof that he bet on the winner. Throughout the history of organized sports wagering there has never been a ticket system that allows a bettor to collect on a winning wager, and also to retain a souvenir record of a winning bet that identifies the sporting event and the winner thereof. This invention fills that need.